Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 27, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
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Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Chicagoland is putting on a breathtaking show of flowers and grasses. Much like last week, at Bluff Spring Fen, alone, I counted twenty-four different species in bloom. I wasn’t even trying. Somme Prairie Grove is much the same and, in my opinion, the best preserve to visit this weekend. Shoe Factory Road Prairie, is also a great experience, especially if you include the surrounding prairie outside the fence. Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is also big on my list, this week. It isn’t as colorful as the other preserves, but it’s the wildest. If you’re in the La Grange area, then a trip to the vast Spears Woods is a good choice. If you’re near Markham, then Gensburg-Markham Prairie has some blooms to offering. And, if you’re in Downers Grove, a visit to Belmont Prairie is worthwhile.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: About two dozen different flowers are blooming throughout the preserve. As you stroll the narrow trails, there’s never a spot without floral color. In the sunny areas of the savanna, I love the the dense stands of round-headed rattlesnake master. They’re structural tops look like Tinker Toys. You’ll also find towering and flowering stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air. Speaking of tall, soon after entering the preserve, a sea of big bluestem grass engulfs you as you walk through a tunnel of this plant. Look for their newly formed “turkey foot” tassels and the miniature flowers that hang from them. Early in the morning, if you don’t dress for it, these grasses will drench you with dew. In addition to appreciating the color, notice the rich textures, especially the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed. Under the shade of the woodland, look for skybound plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. You’ll also notice yellow woodland sunflowers just starting to bloom. In the next week, the woodland will be covered in gold!
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: The vast celebration of purple prairie clover has faded, but the purple of marsh blazing star has taken the lead role at the seep of the fen. You’ll find yellow hues of rosinweed, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, shrubby cinquefoil, lance-leaved loosestrife, and skyrocketing compass plant. Experience that alabaster tones of Culver’s root, wild quinine, flowering spurge, and rattlesnake master. In addition to the purples of marsh blazing star and purple prairie clover, there’s wild bergamot, hoary vervain, sweet Joe-Pye weed in the savanna, spotted Joe-Pye weed in the wetland, and the beginnings of cylindrical blazing star. The grasses are beautiful, as well, including big bluestem, little bluestem, and Canada wild rye, which acts as a brush when loaded with morning dew. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass under the trees of the oak savanna.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States is putting on a beautiful show of rattlesnake master. And there are lots of other plants blooming outside the fence. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion always provides a wonderful and wild experience. Last week, Tuesday, I helped a small turtle across the road. I saw dragonflies mating in flight. And, with every step, I scared up a flurry of startled grasshoppers. Delicate, silver sprays of flowering spurge are blooming throughout the preserve, which combine beautifully with orange butterfly weed in the black oak savanna and rare shrubby cinquefoil in the sand prairie.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs has displays of flowers in both the woodland and prairie. (See the Spears Woods page for GPS coordinates.) Often, the July prairie appears as a sea of purple from the tall and elegant prairie blazing star. However, this year, there are only a few beautiful, dense patches. This is why ChicagoNatureNOW! is so important. Nature is inconsistent and we need people on the ground to provide you with this wonderful information. A hike through the prairie will also put you in touch with blooms of wild bergamot, rattlesnake master, wild quinine, early goldenrod, compass plant, and deep-purple feathery flowers of ironweed. And look for the tiny flowers of big bluestems grass dangling from their towering tassels. In the soft shade of the trees, you’ll find woodland sunflower and the magnificent fluffy flowers of the tall sweet Joe-Pye weed.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Belmont Prairie in Downers grove is also worth a visit to see compass plant, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, and the diminutive blooms of big bluestem grass. Make sure you see the show of prairie blazing star in the northwest corner of the preserve.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham is putting on a show of marsh blazing star, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, yellow coneflower, and more. This display of flowers can be found on the trails that lead to the left as you walk in. NOTE: The gate is NOT locked. It just looks that way. The lock and chain are just draped over the top.
PHOTO SECTION
Prairie Blazing Star (and Marsh Blazing Star): Only the nerds can tell the difference.
Prairie blazing star and rosinweed in July at Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove, Illinois.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Compass Plant
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
A landscape of Compass Plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
Big Bluestem Grass
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.”*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass.*
Somme Prairie Grove
On Tuesday, July 26, purple prairie clover and mountain mint steal the show in this area of Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.
At Somme Prairie Grove on Tuesday, July 26, rattlesnake master and early goldenrod are lit by the first light of day.
Bluff Spring Fen
Soft sunlight, diffused by morning mist, filters across the preserve. Gathered at the base of the kame, fire-resistant bur oaks hover above a colorful caboodle of Joe-Pye weed and tall goldenrod.*
“Lavender in color and mint in fragrance” describes wild bergamot. “Whimsical with an aroma of anise” describes yellow coneflower. Both are native to the prairie, and both are healers. Known as pioneer species,
they are among the first plants to colonize disturbed or degraded areas. Their presence improves soil quality while allowing other plants to move in, leading to greater biodiversity.*
Blazing star blooms at the seep of the fen at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
Spears Woods
Prairie blazing star and wild quinine light up the prairie at Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, August 3 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers, including like sweet (or purple) Joe-Pye weed and woodland sunflowers under the trees.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Spears Woods: Status of blazing star and woodland sunflower.
- Gensburg-Markham Prairie: Status of blazing star, etc.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including woodland sunflower.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of flowering spurge, etc.
- Kickapoo Prairie: Status of blazing star, rattlesnake master, compass plant, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Miller Woods: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
